N.Mariana Islands Basketball

The championship game was not that easy for the all-mighty Guam but the team managed to secure a 5-point victory over Palau to get another Gold medal in the Microgames. In the other games of this final day, the Marshall Islands took the Gold over Kosrae and Kelvin Sam made the best individual performance of the tournament with 44pts in a classification game over Yap!

Gold medal game:Guam - Palau: 77-72Guam continues its reign on the Micronesian region with another Gold medal in the Microgames. But this year Palau forced the guameses to earn it the hard way, the game was close until the last minutes but thanks to a deeper bench, Guam managed to dominate a tired Palau team. Yutaka Gibbons was the game's leading scorer with 22pts 7/19FG while his teamate Sunshine Soalablai added 19pts 6/18FG. For Guam, Dennis Camacho recorded a double-double with 16pts 4/17FG 17rbs and Joseph Blas netted 14pts 4/11FG.

Bronze medal game:Marshall Islands - Kosrae: 85-75A game for the pride. Kosrae was the last remaining team of the 4 micronesians states but they were unable to defeat a strong Marshall Islands side. The RMI provided a great offensive game, a lot of outside shots and a good defense. One year after playing in the South Pacific Mini-Games, the Marshalleses are rewarded with a Bronze medal at the Micronesian level. The players stats were unavailable when I wrote this post.

5th place:CNMI - Chuuk: 86-75The host nation was fustrated to miss the semifinals and tried hard to secure the 5th place of the tournament, they reached the half-time break on a 45-29 lead and shot for 51.5%FG during the entire game. Mark Wallace led his team with 19pts 7/11FG, Fred Pelisamen added 14pts and Mel Manibusan recorded 13pts 10rbs. Ravin Narruhn posted 23pts 9/17FG 10rbs for Chuuk, Keitani Graham netted 22pts and Jon Akapito added 12pts.

7th place:Pohnpei - Yap: 83-77Yap was leading 65-54 after three period but Pohnpei came from behind to avoid the last rank in this tournament. Pohnpei won this game because of one man: Kelvin Sam who recorded a tournament-high 44pts 19/38FG! His teamate Cassidy Shoniber added 11pts. Morri Money top-scored for Yap with 27pts 8rbs while Eric Ruepong scored 18pts 7rbs.

According to tournament director and coordinator Gabriel White, the Settsu Red Impulse Basketball Club is bringing in two U18 teams (girls and boys) for the sixth edition of the tournament that will run from March 26 to 28 at the Marianas High School Gymnasium. This years event is expected to draw more teams, as BANMI has also extended its invitation to Guam's Notre Dame Royals and George Washington High School, along with private and public schools on Saipan [read more]

According to tournament director and coordinator Gabriel White, the Settsu Red Impulse Basketball Club is bringing in two U18 teams (girls and boys) for the sixth edition of the tournament that will run from March 26 to 28 at the Marianas High School Gymnasium. This years event is expected to draw more teams, as BANMI has also extended its invitation to Guam's Notre Dame Royals and George Washington High School, along with private and public schools on Saipan. The MHS Lady Dolphins are the defending champions in the girls U18 division after beating the COPSSA All-Stars last season. The MISO All-Stars rounded out the Top 3. In the boys division, the MISO All-Stars are the reigning titlists, following their victory over Settsu last year, while Tinian High School and COPSSA All-Stars were ranked third and fourth, respectively. The SSFBT is very exciting and local student athletes have been buzzing about this event since it ended last year, and they cant wait for it to happen again. It is a fun-filled week of activities as well as competition, and it keeps getting bigger and better! Everyone goes home a winner with lots of gifts and souvenirs, but more so, many memories from engaging in this cultural sporting exchange, White said in an email sent to Saipan Tribune. Before kicking off the games, BANMI and Settsu will be conducting a players clinic on March 26 from 3pm to 5pm at the MHS Gymnasium. BANMI development official and national coach Elias Rangamar will be working with Settsu assistant coach and manager Shouki Omura during the two-hour event. Courtesy of: saipantribune.com

Northern Mariana Islands - Palau 67:61
Northern Mariana Islands posted the first win at the 2010 Micronesian Games. They rebounded after a bitter loss to Pohnpei in the opener. Northern Mariana Islands held off hosting Palau to improve at 1-1 record. Palau slipped at 0-2 record at the tournament.
CNMI quickly gained the lead in this one. They stayed in charge throughout the opening quarter and posted an 18:11 lead ten minutes into the encounter [read more]

Northern Mariana Islands - Palau 67:61Northern Mariana Islands posted the first win at the 2010 Micronesian Games. They rebounded after a bitter loss to Pohnpei in the opener. Northern Mariana Islands held off hosting Palau to improve at 1-1 record. Palau slipped at 0-2 record at the tournament. CNMI quickly gained the lead in this one. They stayed in charge throughout the opening quarter and posted an 18:11 lead ten minutes into the encounter. Northern Mariana Islands maintained the lead throughout the second stanza. They arrived at the interval up by 5 points 32:27. The hosts turned things around in the third frame. Gibbons notched a pair of three-pointers to ignite the run that put Palau in charge 46:45 with ten minutes to go. Barcinas and Quan helped CNMI to regain control late in regulation. Northern Mariana Islands pulled ahead and iced the victory in the dying minutes. Jericho Cruz unloaded 31 points to lead CNMI. Danandro Barcinas added 11 points, while Tim Quan had 7 points in the victory. Watson answered with 24 points for Palau. Yutaka Gibbons (G) had 11 points in defeat.

CNMI - Pohnpei 67:71
Northern Mariana Islands got to a slow start of the 7th Micronesian Games in Palau. They lost the opener to Pohnpei. Northern Mariana Islands got to a slow start. They were down by 7 points 11:18 at the first break. But the strong second quarter helped them take a 34:29 advantage at the interval. Pohnpei stressed the game inside the paint and it paid off. They went on an 8:2 run to surge ahead. Pohnpei maintained the lead throughout the third term [read more]

CNMI - Pohnpei 67:71Northern Mariana Islands got to a slow start of the 7th Micronesian Games in Palau. They lost the opener to Pohnpei. Northern Mariana Islands got to a slow start. They were down by 7 points 11:18 at the first break. But the strong second quarter helped them take a 34:29 advantage at the interval. Pohnpei stressed the game inside the paint and it paid off. They went on an 8:2 run to surge ahead. Pohnpei maintained the lead throughout the third term. The fourth quarter brought little relief for Northern Mariana Islands. They were down by 11 points but showed character. CNMI almost denied the deficit before falling just short of victory at the end. William Hawley unloaded 19 points to pace Pohnpei. Yaingelvo produced 14 points, while Roby finished with 12 for the winners. Jericho Cruz answered with 26 points for Northern Mariana Islands. Danandro Barcinas provided 15 points in the loss.

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